{"url":"https://adage.com/technology/ai/aa-the-trade-desk-expands-agent-advertising-stagwell-integration/","title":"Trade Desk launches Koa Agents with Stagwell.","domain":"adage.com","imageUrl":"https://images.pexels.com/photos/5622910/pexels-photo-5622910.jpeg?auto=compress&cs=tinysrgb&h=650&w=940","pexelsSearchTerm":"advertising","category":"Tech","language":"en","slug":"3ef8da7a","id":"3ef8da7a-ece9-4a0b-8edc-2fc081dc6366","description":"Koa Agents Launch: The Trade Desk launched Koa Agents, AI tools for programmatic ad trading, with Stagwell as the first agency partner.[[1]](https://adage.","summary":"## TL;DR\n- **Koa Agents Launch:** The Trade Desk launched Koa Agents, AI tools for programmatic ad trading, with Stagwell as the first agency partner.[[1]](https://adage.com/technology/ai/aa-the-trade-desk-expands-agent-advertising-stagwell-integration/)[[2]](https://adage.com/technology/ai/aa-the-trade-desk-expands-agent-advertising-stagwell-integration)\n- **Open Agentic Kit:** Integration uses The Trade Desk's Open Agentic Kit to link Koa Agents with Stagwell Media Platform for campaign workflows.[[1]](https://adage.com/technology/ai/aa-the-trade-desk-expands-agent-advertising-stagwell-integration/)\n- **Agentic Shift:** Move aims to boost productivity in media buying amid industry transition to AI agents handling decisions and optimizations.[[1]](https://adage.com/technology/ai/aa-the-trade-desk-expands-agent-advertising-stagwell-integration/)\n\n## The story at a glance\nThe Trade Desk launched Koa Agents on Tuesday, an AI extension of its Koa intelligence in the demand-side platform (DSP), with Stagwell as the first ad agency to integrate it via the Stagwell Media Platform. The companies involved are The Trade Desk, Stagwell, and indirectly rivals building similar buyer and seller agents. This is being reported now following the alpha launch this week. Programmatic advertising is shifting toward \"agentic\" systems where AI agents automate buying from goal inputs alone.[[1]](https://adage.com/technology/ai/aa-the-trade-desk-expands-agent-advertising-stagwell-integration/)\n\n## Key points\n- Koa Agents handle insight generation, strategy recommendations, media purchases, campaign activation, live adjustments, and reasoning based on trader risk tolerance.[[1]](https://adage.com/technology/ai/aa-the-trade-desk-expands-agent-advertising-stagwell-integration/)\n- Trained on The Trade Desk's data from audiences, publishers, retail media networks, and measurement providers; Stagwell client data will not train the agents further.[[1]](https://adage.com/technology/ai/aa-the-trade-desk-expands-agent-advertising-stagwell-integration/)\n- Open Agentic Kit enables agent-to-agent communication with partners but is not open-source or for broad industry use.[[1]](https://adage.com/technology/ai/aa-the-trade-desk-expands-agent-advertising-stagwell-integration/)\n- Rivals and supply-side platforms are developing agents; industry frameworks include IAB Tech Lab’s Agent Registry and Ad Context Protocol.[[1]](https://adage.com/technology/ai/aa-the-trade-desk-expands-agent-advertising-stagwell-integration/)\n- Early focus on insights, with options for deeper automation depending on user trust levels.[[1]](https://adage.com/technology/ai/aa-the-trade-desk-expands-agent-advertising-stagwell-integration/)\n\n## Details and context\nKoa Agents build on The Trade Desk's existing Koa AI for media buying decisions, accessing audience data, ad inventory, and similar audience searches across the platform. They allow users to input campaign goals, with agents then configuring and optimizing based on data signals. Stagwell integrates this into its media investment hub, creating workflows from planning to measurement without sharing client data for model training.[[1]](https://adage.com/technology/ai/aa-the-trade-desk-expands-agent-advertising-stagwell-integration/)\n\nThe programmatic ad sector is moving to goal-only buying, where agents negotiate with platforms and publishers for targeting, transactions, and reporting. The Trade Desk's kit addresses interoperability amid competition, following past issues like Kokai automation concerns and Publicis fee disputes.[[1]](https://adage.com/technology/ai/aa-the-trade-desk-expands-agent-advertising-stagwell-integration/)\n\n## Key quotes\n“To us, AI presents such a bigger opportunity than just efficiency—it’s really around productivity,” Jordan Rost, VP of product marketing at The Trade Desk, told Ad Age. “Our focus with Koa Agents is to make everybody who is involved in the advertising workflow so much more powerful.”[[1]](https://adage.com/technology/ai/aa-the-trade-desk-expands-agent-advertising-stagwell-integration/)\n\n“The Koa system can identify ‘new audiences and audience affinity that no human ever would have naturally gleaned,’” Jordan Rost said.[[1]](https://adage.com/technology/ai/aa-the-trade-desk-expands-agent-advertising-stagwell-integration/)\n\nStagwell’s client data will not be used to improve the overall performance of Koa Agents, Slavi Samardzija, global chair of media and commerce at Stagwell, told Ad Age.[[1]](https://adage.com/technology/ai/aa-the-trade-desk-expands-agent-advertising-stagwell-integration/)\n\n## Why it matters\nAgentic AI could redefine programmatic advertising by automating complex decisions, raising stakes for DSP dominance and interoperability standards. Agencies and buyers gain tools for faster, data-driven campaigns without full automation risks, while platforms like The Trade Desk push proprietary frameworks. Watch for more partner adoptions and real-world performance from the alpha rollout, though deeper reliance depends on building trader trust.[[1]](https://adage.com/technology/ai/aa-the-trade-desk-expands-agent-advertising-stagwell-integration/)\n\n## What changed\nBefore, The Trade Desk's Koa handled bidding and performance via real-time data in the DSP. Now, Koa Agents add agentic capabilities for end-to-end workflows like planning and optimization, integrated with partners via Open Agentic Kit. The alpha launch happened Tuesday before the article's April 21, 2026 publication.[[1]](https://adage.com/technology/ai/aa-the-trade-desk-expands-agent-advertising-stagwell-integration/)\n\n## FAQ\nQ: What tasks can Koa Agents perform?\nA: Koa Agents configure campaigns, generate insights, recommend strategies, purchase media, activate campaigns, make live adjustments, and apply reasoning based on trader risk tolerance. They integrate with Stagwell Media Platform for unified workflows. Early use focuses on insights with scalable automation options.[[1]](https://adage.com/technology/ai/aa-the-trade-desk-expands-agent-advertising-stagwell-integration/)\n\nQ: How does the Stagwell integration work?\nA: Stagwell connects its Media Platform to Koa Agents using Open Agentic Kit for agent-to-agent communication across planning, activation, measurement, and optimization. Stagwell client data stays private and does not train Koa Agents. This enables custom automated workflows for Stagwell clients.[[1]](https://adage.com/technology/ai/aa-the-trade-desk-expands-agent-advertising-stagwell-integration/)\n\nQ: What is the industry's context for these agents?\nA: Rival DSPs and supply-side platforms build buyer-seller agents for automated buying modes, including recommendations and transactions. Frameworks like IAB Tech Lab’s Agent Registry and AdCP aid cross-ecosystem bridging. The shift is to goal-only advertising where agents handle decisions.[[1]](https://adage.com/technology/ai/aa-the-trade-desk-expands-agent-advertising-stagwell-integration/)\n\nQ: Is Open Agentic Kit open-source?\nA: No, it is The Trade Desk's proprietary framework for partner agent communication, not intended for industry-wide adoption. It supports specific integrations like with Stagwell. Broader standards come from groups like IAB Tech Lab.[[1]](https://adage.com/technology/ai/aa-the-trade-desk-expands-agent-advertising-stagwell-integration/)","hashtags":["#ai","#advertising","#programmatic","#trade","#desk","#stagwell"],"sources":[{"url":"https://adage.com/technology/ai/aa-the-trade-desk-expands-agent-advertising-stagwell-integration/","title":"Original article"}],"viewCount":2,"publishedAt":"2026-04-23T12:12:20.812Z","createdAt":"2026-04-23T12:12:20.812Z","articlePublishedAt":"2026-04-21T09:00:00.000Z"}